Book Review: Girls In Pants (The Third Summer of the Sisterhood)

Title/ Author:  The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares
Year/ Publisher:  Ember, 2006.
How I read it:  Hardcover
Why I read it:  It was on my TBR for a while but never got to it, so I got it from my library.
Rating:  4/5

This is the third book of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series by Ann Brashares.  To be honest, I wasn't that excited after reading the second book of the series, but it had been a while since I had last read something from Ann, so I thought, "hey, why not?"  So I gave the 3rd book a shot.

Summary from Goodreads:  The Pants first came to us at the perfect moment. That is, when we were splitting up for the first time. It was two summers ago when they first worked their magic, and last summer when they shook up our lives once again. You see, we don’t wear the Pants year-round. We let them rest so they are extra powerful when summer comes. (There was the time this spring when Carmen wore them to her mom’s wedding, but that was a special case.)
Now we’re facing our last summer together. In September we go to college. And it’s not like one of those TV shows where all of us magically turn up at the same college. We’re going to four different colleges in four different cities (but all within four hours of one another—that was our one rule). We’re headed off to start our real lives. 
Tomorrow night at Gilda’s we’ll launch the Pants on their third summer voyage. Tomorrow begins the time of our lives. It’s when we’ll need our Pants the most.

Quick Review for those who have not read it yet:
Well, first off, if you haven't read the first 2 books of the series, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?  If you finished the second book and aren't sure if you should continue with the series, then definitely read this short little paragraph.  I believe it is worth it to keep reading.  Your reading experience may be different from mine depending on which of the girls' stories is the most intriguing to you.  But I think you should definitely continue.  You won't regret it!

The Review:
I'm going to be very honest.  I didn't know at first how intrigued I would be by this book.  I didn't really enjoy the second book as much but I decided to give this series a shot again.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Though I feel kind of ashamed that for about the majority of the book, I was only concerned with what was happening with Bee.  I really wish that wasn't how it was, but it was.  Out of all the four girls, I think Bee is my favorite, but I love all the girls.  I don't hate any of them or think that their character isn't important.  I just felt like Bee's was more entertaining and suspenseful.  When I read the synopsis and sensed Eric would be back, my heart flipped!  I was hoping for some unanswered questions from the first book to FINALLY be answered!  That was the main reason I began to get so eager with what was going on.

The best part about this book was the character development of all the characters.  I loved Bee's (as I already talked briefly about).  I thought the summers of Carmen, Lena, and Tibby were pretty impacting as well.  I thought their stories were something to be remembered as well!  Tibby found love, vulnerability, and strength.  She was put through a tough time when her sister fell out the window and when Carmen's mother had the baby.  Not to mention, Brian came flooding into her life with arms wide open.  I saw amazing character development in Tibby.  I love the metaphor of her job at the movie theater, where she saw a movie 14 times and it got boring after a while.  Then, when she asked the nurse if it got boring to see the birth of child, she said that it was the same thing, but a different miracle every time or something like that.  I loved that aspect.  I think Tibby learned to let go of worries and learn to be strong when things get rough.

Carmen had a great character development as well.  She learned to take on the role of responsibility.  She kept believing that she wasn't this "Good Carmen" that the boy she started falling for, Win, saw.  She believed her actions were selfish.  She was resenting her mother having a baby.  She hated watching over Valia, but she need to earn money.  But spending more time with Valia, she understood.  Helping Christina with the baby, she understood.  Carmen didn't realize that she was doing these things out of the goodness of her heart in the long run.  She ended up liking Valia.  She ended up going to the college of her dreams after having doubts about leaving home.  She also ended up with a great guy who was just as good as she was; they deserved each other.

Lena's character went from shy to strong.  As much as her father disapproved of her going to art school, she pushed hard so she could get a scholarship.  She lied to her father just so she could go to art classes.  She was able to stand up to him so that she would be able to do what she would with the gift she was given.  Lena was an artist, and she fought for what she loved.  Eventually, her hard work paid off, and she got her father's approval.  Sometimes, you have to fight for what you believe is right, even if it seems impossible.

Bee had a fantastic character development.  Two summers ago, she was a flirty, love stuck 15 year old with a crush on the hot soccer coach.  This summer, she was a composed, love stuck 17 year old with a longing heart for the hot soccer coach she believed she could never have.  She felt herself drawn to him, but knew in her heart, she had to try to be friends with him, which she accomplished.  Eventually, she discovered he felt the same way, and Eric broke up with his girlfriend because it didn't feel right with her.  It felt right with Bridget.  Two summers ago, she was childish with Eric.  This summer, she felt more love from him in a simple embrace.

All the girls learned lessons and learned things about themselves and about others, which makes me believe that this was an amazing book.  If there's anything I love most about good books, it's when there's good character development.